Climber Ascends Taipei 101 Without Ropes

American rock climber Alex Honnold ascended the Taipei 101 on January 25 without any ropes or safety equipment.

Crowds from the street cheered as he reached the top of the 508-meter tower about 90 minutes after he started. Honnold said it was very windy at the top as he tried to keep his balance and enjoy the view of Taiwan’s capital city.

“What a beautiful way to see Taipei,” he said afterward.

The 40-year-old Honnold climbed up one corner of the building, which has 101 floors.

The most difficult part was the 64 floors of the middle section — the “bamboo boxes” that give the building its signature look. The section has eight parts, each with eight floors that overhang followed by a balcony where Honnold could take a short rest.

The climb was shown live on Netflix with a 10-second delay. It was meant to take place on January 24, but was delayed for 24 hours because of rain.

While many were excited about the climb, some felt it wasn’t right to show such a dangerous activity live on TV.

Honnold isn’t the first climber to ascend Taipei 101. French rock climber Alain Robert climbed the building on Christmas Day in 2004 as part of the opening of what was then the world’s tallest building.

However, Honnold is the first to do it without ropes or safety equipment, making this the highest-ever urban free solo climb.

Honnold is famous for being the first person to free solo El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, California. The 915-meter climb was filmed and shown in the movie Free Solo, which won an Oscar in 2019.